Auckland is confronted with a three-sided growth challenge. There are not enough homes, there is growing traffic congestion and solving either problem is becoming increasingly unaffordable.

Rapid population growth is exacerbating pressures, but it is not the root cause of Auckland’s growth challenge.

The allocations of housing and employment growth in the Unitary Plan are misaligned with Auckland’s infrastructure services. The Independent Panel on the Unitary Plan assumed infrastructure could be provided to meet growth. Transport modelling shows that it cannot. Growth is everywhere and nowhere and lumpy infrastructure investment cannot keep up.

This discussion document proposes a different approach.